Words of love for daily lives.

Tempted to eat the last cookie. Tempted not to go to the gym today. Tempted to look my five year old in the eye and say, “I have had enough of your wiggly cuddles right now.”

Yeah…I’m tempted. The urge to deviate from the normal routine and do something that is not quite so acceptable.

Tempted to sit and not go to work tonight. Not have to deal with the public faces. Oh, it’s tempting me. But I’ll go. (But not without a whole lot more of those wiggly cuddles I spoke of a moment ago!!)

I’m tempted to just let it all go some days. Because, you know, some days are just harder than others. And it’s tempting!! It’s tempting to just let the words come out with no filter certain days. Very, very tempting!!! (You know what I mean, I’m sure!!)

Not giving into those temptations is good. Not necessarily easy, but usually a good thing!!

Some temptations aren’t all that life changing or even that noticeable to the world around us. If I give into those temptations, I don’t think many, if any, would even notice, but I would. And that’s what defines my judgement of those temptations. If it won’t make me a better person, then likely it isn’t a “good temptation”. (That’s kinda sad, since that bottle of wine is really tempting right now!!)

Giving into temptations on a regular basis is not a good thing. It creates new habits that are not really good habits. And yes, I am human and will admit that I have bad habits that have come from temptations. I wasn’t strong enough to stand against them (or just didn’t feel like trying to stand).

I’m going to try to stand against those temptations a little better. What about you? I know I will feel better about myself if I stand against them. Because temptations have a tendency to screw up everything that we work for when we give into them!!

Let the world go on with its temptations, and we will go on and be the best of whatever we are!!! WE CAN DO THIS!!!

Names. Everything in the world has a name. Sometimes it’s not a good name, but it is still a name.

There is a random, artificial, spruce pine tree in my living room and it’s named a Christmas tree.

There are multiple pictures on my walls of different people. They all have names and if I say those names, people automatically know who I am referring to.

We all have names. Our parents, or someone in charge of shaping our future, decided that we would be called a certain word and that word became our name.

I have a name. Rebecca Leigh Anne Weaver. I had a different last name, many years ago. So, as we know, names can change. The best name change for me was when my oldest child (Trentyn) was born and I became Mom. Someday (hopefully in the very far future), that name will get an addition and I’ll become Grandma, or Nana, or Mee-maw…or whatever those little ones decide my name will be.

We name everything. Our pets, our children, our children name their dolls, their stuffed animals, the stars, some people name their cars. Names are a way of identifying items in our life.

There are names we don’t like. Names that we enjoy. Names that we fall in love with. Names that will shape our lives. We have name cards, namesakes, fake names and pseudonyms. Each have their place in this world. And someone, somewhere named them.

God has given us each a name. It is up to us to use that name in a profitable way. And then there’s the Lamb’s Book of Life. And I hope each of us has our name written there!!

This year just past was long. Too long. Too tiring. Exhausting. Emotionally. Physically. Mentally. Spiritually. Long.
Today is the first day of a brand new year. An open canvas, on which anything can be painted. An open book with 365 pages just waiting to be written. A large gift, neatly wrapped and waiting to be opened.

Whichever metaphor suits your fancy, it is all of that. All of that and so much, much more.

I don’t make New Years Resolutions. I don’t figure that I’ll keep them, anyway. If I want to resolve to do something, I’m not going to make it happen any more easily just because it is New Years Day.

But today? Today I resolved the same thing that I resolve every day. I stood in front of the mirror this morning and looked myself in the eye, and said, “Today, Rebecca, today is the first day of the rest of your life. Make it a good one. Find love. Give love. Be love. Be, at the end of today, just a little bit better than you are right now.”